PIERRE – Aberdeen Central’s Olivia Braun captured medalist honors on a playoff hole, and the Golden Eagles shot a season best 336 to finish second as a team during the Pierre Invitational golf tournament on Tuesday.

Rapid City Stevens won the team title with a 329.

Braun and Taylor Wit of Stevens finished in a tie with 77’s forcing a playoff on hole number 18. Braun bogeyed the hole, but Wit ended up three-putting giving Braun the victory.

Central had a very strong team effort with five girls among the top 15, all of them shooting under 90.

“Collectively, I’m very pleased with how we played today, I really am. We talked (Monday) and I kind of challenged the girls to try and get four scores under 90. We did that and then some today; we actually had five,” said Central coach Kim Zimmerman. “Generally, when you do that, good things happen. Today, I think it’s just kind of evident of that and how we scored. It’s by far and away our best score of the year on really a brutal day. It was tough out there today.”

Central’s Kyley Wirebaugh was seventh with an 86, Emma Dohrer was eighth with an 87, Morgan Jones was 14th and Leah Gough was 15th, both with 88s.

“You look at our top three golfers, it’s kind of interesting how we were led today,” Zimmerman said.
“Eighth-grader, seventh-grader, eighth-grader. Not taking anything away from those other girls because they played well, but when you have those three young girls kind of leading the way today, that’s pretty impressive.”

Central will have its only home action of the season when the Eagles host the Hub City Invitational at 10 a.m. Thursday at Lee Park Golf Course. Other teams scheduled to compete include Huron, Mitchell, Pierre and Watertown.

It will give the Eagles a chance to play in front of their friends and family.

“They’re young, but they’re a very impressive group to watch,” Zimmerman said, “just how they handle themselves, how they conduct themselves on the course.”

Team Points: Rapid City Stevens 329, Aberdeen Central 336, Huron 350, Pierre 351, Mitchell 358, Watertown 373, Brookings 375, Spearfish 380, Winner 409, Mobridge-Pollock 441, Sturgis 449, Pierre B 482.

Top 15 Finishers

1, Olivia Braun, Aberdeen Central, 77; 2, Taylor Wit, Rapid City Stevens, 77; 3, Bryn Huber, Huron, 78; 4, Tanna Phares, Rapid City Stevens, 80; 5, Lauren Knapp, Rapid City Stevens 81; 6, Haley Nadeau, Pierre, 83; 7, Kyley Wirebaugh, Aberdeen Central, 85; 8, Emma Dohrer, Aberdeen Central, 86; 9, Riley Zebroski, Watertown, 86; 10, Allison Meyerink, Mitchell, 87;

11, Olivia Rink, Huron, 87; 12, Ellie Jo Simpson, Pierre, 87; 13, Delilah Fuls, Brookings, 87; 14, Morgan Jones, Aberdeen Central, 88; 15, Leah Gough, Aberdeen Central, 88.

Other Aberdeen Central golfer: 34, Miranda Maas, 97.